Bruises
by ArwenLalaith
Summary: Tag to 'Minimal Loss'. He'd listened to her pain and suffered with her. Now, he just wanted to hold her and heal with her. Co-written with Confetti Leaves.


Morgan sat on the bed, fidgeting uncomfortably as he waited for Emily to come out of the bathroom after her shower. He immediately looked up when he heard the bathroom door crack open and went to her side, helping her to the bed.

"I'm injured, not an invalid," she murmured jokingly, knowing that he had been worried about her since she left for Colorado with Reid.

He smiled tightly, ignoring her statement. "Feel better?"

"A little," she shrugged, trying to smile a little, but even that small effort caused her pain and it came across in her expression. She winced when she saw the frown lines on his forehead deepen. "Do you have any Advil?" she asked, pressing an icepack to her face.

He nodded a little, handing her a glass of water and two pills. "You should have gone to the hospital and let the doctors check you," he whispered softly.

Taking a pill with a grimace, insisting, "I'm fine. I don't need medical care."

"I'd feel better if I heard that from a doctor, baby," he sighed, knowing that with her stubborn nature, she would never go to the hospital.

"Trust me, I'm okay – it barely even hurts anymore." She kissed him on the cheek. "It's just a little bruise, I've had worse."

He lay down beside her on the bed, desperately wanting to hold her, but fighting the urge out of fear that he'd aggravate her bruises and cause her more pain.

"Baby, I'm not made of porcelain – it's okay to hold me..." she assured, snuggling up to him and resting her head on his chest, almost as if she'd sensed his worry.

He gingerly wrapped his arms around her, placing a gentle kiss on the crown of her head. "Go to sleep; you've had a long week. I'll be here when you wake up."

She lay in silence for a moment, feeling a tension in his embrace. "Is something wrong, baby? You seem...troubled..."

"I'm fine, baby." He gently ran his fingers through her hair as he focused on the feeling of her heart steadily beating against his chest. Go to sleep."

"But you'd tell me if something were wrong, right?" she asked, pressing a soft kiss to his chest, "I don't want to fall asleep knowing you're upset."

He didn't answer, merely protectively holding her closer to his chest. "I love you," he whispered softly.

"I love you too." For a moment, she listened to their quiet breathing, before once again speaking up. "You're worried," she stated, more than questioned.

"Don't worry about me – I'll get over it," he assured, kissing her gently, as if she would break should he kiss her any harder. "You should sleep."

Emily bit her lip, sighing. "Please talk to me." She looked up at him pleadingly. "We promised not to keep secrets... I can't sleep knowing something's bothering you."

He looked at her for several long moments, taking in the bruise around her eye and sighed. "Do you have any idea how hard it was for me to hear you get beat up?"

Her expression changed from a look of worry into a look of sympathy. "I'm so sorry you had to hear that, but I had no choice... You would have done the same thing."

"Cyrus could have killed you. I could have lost you for good," he murmured sadly, unconsciously tightening his arms around her. "You're always telling me to stop putting myself at risk, but you... I know you did it to save Reid and I'm proud of you, but what if Cyrus had no problem with killing women? What would I have done then?"

"But you _didn't_ lose me... I'm still here and that's all that matters. I know you were worried, but dwelling on 'what ifs' isn't going to do any good."

"I can't help it," he whispered. "I promised I wouldn't let anyone hurt you, I promised to protect you and I can't even do that..."

"I'm going to tell you what I told Reid: what happened with Cyrus wasn't your fault – I made that decision and I would do it again." She sat up so she could look straight into his eyes, needing him to see that there had been no other solutions at that time. "You can't protect me from everything."

"Doesn't make it easier," he said stubbornly, sitting up and gently pulling her onto his lap. He rested a heavy palm on her belly and looked at her worriedly. "What if you were pregnant? What if you were having my baby and we lost her because of what Cyrus did to you? I'd hate for you to lose another baby, Em."

"I worry about that _every day_..." she said brokenly, taking a shallow breath, trying not to get choked up. "I don't know what you want me say... I _know _I should have thought about that, but I didn't." She shut her eyes for a moment to steady herself. "But it doesn't matter because I'm _not _pregnant."

He cupped her cheeks, forcing her to look into his eyes. "Baby, I'm not blaming you. I just don't want anything bad to happen to you." He pressed a quick, soft kiss to her lips. "I love you."

"I love you too." She wrapped her arms around him, burying her face in the crook of his neck. "I'm sorry, I really am...but we both know what happened when Reid got beaten before and I just couldn't let it happen again – I had to protect my family. I thought you'd understand that..."

"I _do _understand. I just wish you weren't the one getting hurt," he murmured, holding her tightly. "Where did he hit you?" he asked after a long moment.

She gave a humorless half-laugh. "A better question would be where _didn't _he hit me..." She tightened her arms around him as she flashed back to those terrifying moments.

"I'm sorry," he sighed softly, tugging at her tank top, "Let me see..."

She pulled her shirt back to expose her stomach and the purple-black stain spreading across her skin. Her eyes fell to the bruise, then once again met his gaze sadly. "I'm sorry..."

He gently brushed his fingers over the bruise, then pulled her shirt over her head, sighing upon spotting another bruise blossoming under her breasts. "Where else?"

"I think it's mostly just my face..." she said softly. "Really, it's not as bad as it looks."

"Are you sure it doesn't hurt?" he murmured softly, kissing the cuts on her arms where Cyrus had slammed her into the mirror.

"I didn't say it doesn't hurt," she said softly, attempting a smile. She brought his hand to gently rest against her bruised cheek. "But I feel better when I'm with you."

He tenderly brushed his thumb across the purple-black stain, pressing a gentle kiss beside her eye. "Is this better?"

"Mmm – much." She shut her eyes and leaned into his touch, loving the warmth of his skin against hers, sighing tiredly. "I love you. I'm sorry I scared you."

"Shh... It's okay," he murmured, leaning down to kiss the bruises on her body. "I love you too."

Emily laid back on the pillows, pulling him down with her and snuggling close to him.

"Can you...just hold me for a bit?" she whispered uncertainly, as if he would reject her, "I'm afraid to fall asleep."

He held her close, wrapping his arms firmly and almost protectively around her, pressing a kiss on her forehead. "You have nothing to be afraid of, baby. I'm right here. Go to sleep, Princess, I'll be here when you wake up."

"Promise?" she murmured, a hint of fear breaking into her voice.

"I promise," Morgan whispered softly before gently pressing his lips against hers. He let her deepen the kiss, indulging for a moment before pulling back, knowing hard it would be for the both of them to control themselves if they got too excited. "Sleep."

She rested her head on his chest; listening to his heartbeat steadily beneath her ear made her feel safe and the feel of his hand soothingly rubbing up and down her back slowly lured her to sleep. "I don't ever want to wake up without you here with me," she murmured sleepily.

"You won't have to; I promise." He kissed her softly again, smiling tenderly as he watched her eyes stubbornly struggling to stay awake. "Go to sleep, Princess. I'll make you waffles in the morning."

Smiling lightly, she shut her eyes, slowly letting sleep wash over her, whispering, "I love you," before she let herself drift into dreamscape.

"I love you too." He struggled to stay awake for a little longer, watching her sleep, revelling in the joy of having her back in his arms, safe and sound, before joining her in dreamland.


End file.
